Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead is no Tim Tebow when it comes to star power in the SEC. But there’s no doubt Snead is grabbing loads of attention as he prepares for his junior season. In fact, he’s even mentioned as a Heisman Trophy darkhorse.

Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt was asked about this today, especially since he’s seen it before. Nutt, of course, coached Darren McFadden at Arkansas and saw this type of hype before. So what is his advice for Snead?

“When you play the way you play, at the end of the year (in 2008), there’s going to be attention,” Nutt said. “It’s how you handle the attention. I want Jevan to keep being Jevan. He’s always been a very unselfish guy.

“I think the biggest thing, learning what we went through with Darren McFadden, there’s going to be attention, there’s going to be a lot more media, a lot more TV interviewers. There’s going to be more demands on your time. … You have to stay focused and keep priorities priorities. What that means is managing that time. It’s school, it’s football, and then handle all the extracurricular activities that’s gonna happen with all this attention.”

As far as Snead goes, the quarterback said not much has changed in his mind even though the notoriety is much, much greater after the Rebels’ success last season. The junior said he’s just taking everything in stride.

“I think as a team, we’re handling it well. We’re not changing much from what we did last  year. It was hard work that got us success and that’s what we’re continuing to do.”